


This One's for You and Me

by nintendogs



Category: Of Mice and Men (Band)
Genre: M/M, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-18
Updated: 2016-01-11
Packaged: 2018-05-02 04:40:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5234477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nintendogs/pseuds/nintendogs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two boys. Two different worlds. Two different cliques. One's popular, and the other one just hates it. What happens when their worlds collide? Will it end up good or bad?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. oo1

Austin. Austin Carlile. Everyone in Shady Glade High School knew who I was. I had a so called "reputation" here, as most people would say. You see, I'm a what most people (or everyone) in school considered the most popular guy in school. People didn't mess with me (due to the fact that my chicken legs go on forever so I'm taller than them plus they assume I'd throw them across the parking lot if they pissed me off), they didn't try and act more superior than me, people tried to be my friend, and some even act as if they worshiped the ground I walked on.  
  
Here's the catch, I'm not that guy. I'm not that guy who thinks they're so much better than everyone else, thinks they can get any girl they want, take advantage of people, bully innocent students, etc. I'm the complete opposite if anything. I couldn't hurt a fly, I am nice to everyone, I don't hit on each person I found attractive because that would be disrespectful of me, and I didn't like the idea of using others just to get things. That's what I hated about being “popular". People label me like the cliche jocks you'd see in movies or TV shows but that's not who I am. Labels are for soup cans and I'm not a soup can. They didn't know the real me, or at least the one thing that made me different from all my other so called “friends". I am gay; as straight as a .  
  
My mom and dad accepted my sexuality. They said that no matter who I love, they'll always still love me and support the decisions I make. I was glad that they never treated me any different. It wasn't like I am ashamed of admitting my sexuality, but more of the fact I was afraid of things taking a bad turn. If I wasn't popular anymore, I wouldn't give two fucks. But if it led to the douche faces making people bully me then I can't handle that. I'm a pretty sensitive person despite my height and the way you'd see me as.  
  
I just woke up, already annoyed about the fact that I had to go to hell (or school if you wanna be specific about it). After I took a quick shower and got ready, I headed downstairs. “Morning mom," I said, kissing her cheek. “Morning dad."  
  
“Morning sweetie. How did you sleep?" My mother asked me as she was making her delicious pancakes.  
  
“I slept pretty okay, and you?" I grabbed a cup, pouring milk. She told me she slept fine and I had to eat quickly before I would be late.  
  
After quickly eating (and almost choking) on my food and saying goodbye to my parents, I walked towards my _actual_ friends. When I mean by that, I mean that they weren't those dick faces I hang out with but just really nice and cool guys. Their names were Tino, Phil, Aaron, and Shayley. What I liked about them also was that they were accepting of me being gay and they understood if one of the “popular" guys wanted me to hang out with them instead of with my actual friends.  
  
“Austin, what’s up?” Tino asked, shutting his locker.  
  
“Nothing really,” I responded.  
  
“You guys wanna come over and chill out in the basement? We got a new pool table," Phil said with a bright smile.  
  
We all nodded in agreement, going our separate ways once the bell rang.  
  


\--

  
  
It was now first lunch and I was hungry as hell. I ate a lot so I never really understood how I was still a thin guy judging by the amount of food on my tray. I had two big slices of cheese pizza, tater tots, chips, one chocolate chip cookie, one sugar cookie, and apple slices. I sat at the table located in the back of the cafeterias with the guys. I ignores the other guy's weird stares. I just wanted to eat my tater tots without them looking at me like I was insane for sitting with them.  
  
In the middle of our conversation; a guy with short dark brown hair, a dark reddish colored shorts, white T-shirt, and black Vans came up to our table with his tray of food (which was really only one slice of pepperoni pizza, half a sandwich, and an orange).  
  
“Who are you?” Shayley asked. Not in a rude way, but more with curiosity.  
  
“Hi, my name is Jaxin Hall and I just moved here. I didn't have anyone else to sit with so I was wondering if I can sit with you guys," the guy, who was Jaxin apparently, said.  
  
“Of course you can! Guys, make some room; you can just pull up a chair from that table over there," I said, sitting closer to Shayley to make some room.  
  
We all introduced ourselves to Jaxin once he sat down between me and Phil. He was a really cool guy. Jaxin even showed us his tattoo of a shark and it said “Live every week like it's shark week." It was a pretty bad ass tattoo if I have to admit.  
  
During the middle of our conversation of where Jaxin was from, I noticed a really cute ginger standing by the exit of the cafeteria. His hair was a bright red headed color. He wasn't that much shorter than me, but still short nonetheless. His nose ring was identical to mind and his light brown eyes were so captivating. He had this look like he didn't give a fuck of what others thought of him. I liked that.  
  
“Aw, Carlile has a crush, doesn't he?" Shayley teased with a smirk on his face. He was playfully nudging my side with his elbow, only making me roll my eyes.  
  
“Who's the guy?" Phil asked, looking around the room. When he saw his girlfriend, Anouk, he waved at her with a smile. They are honestly a cute couple.  
  
“I don't know his name."  
  
“Ahh, a guy! Okay, describe what the lucky guy looks like or just point where he is," Tino instructed. The guys always want to set me up with someone, hence why Tino is making me show him the guy. But they always make sure he swings for the other team before they try to set me up with the guy.  
  
“See that ginger with the nose ring?”  
  
“Yeah,” Aaron said. “I don’t know him, though.”  
  
“I do," Jaxin said, putting his sandwich down. “His name is Alan, he's a really cool dude. I saw him smoking outside the school when I first got here and he showed me around."  
  
“I bet he’s straight,” I said with disappointment.  
  
“Well you never know, Austin," Jaxin said, getting up to put away his tray probably. “Nothing wrong with trying to find the answer to your question."  
  
And damn, he was right.


	2. oo2

The past two weeks since I saw Alan in the cafeteria, I haven't stopped thinking about him. I just wanted to know every single detail about him. What are his likes, dislikes, favorite bands, favorite foods, favorite drinks, hobbies, and just everything. I wanna know all of the flaws that make up Alan. I wanna know how he has such an affect on me. How I can't stop thinking about the way he runs his fingers through his ginger hair, the way he bites his lower lip when he's annoyed or angry, how he isolates himself from others when he doesn't have anyone to talk to, and how quiet he is usually.  
  
Alan is the only reason why I wake up every morning just to go to school. Usually waking up at 6:30 in the morning was something I definitely not signed up for, but if it was to see Alan then my name is number one on the nonexistent list.  
  
The ginger was in only five of my classes. I've noticed that he always sits in the front of the classroom, hence why I never noticed him since I sit in the back. Like right now. I was in my English class with Shayley and Jaxin. Jaxin has joined our small group along with a friend he introduced us to, Loniel Robinson. They are cool guys for sure.  
  
Currently in class, we were learning about metaphors, similes, personifications, hyperboles, and alliterations. I'm pretty damn positive I was taught this back in 8th grade. But as a senior, I usually didn't remember this shit so maybe this lesson isn't so bad. The best thing about this class other than having friends in my class is that I was having the perfect view of Alan, who was sitting up front as always.  
  
Our English teacher, Mr. Gales kept talking and talking in his boring monotone voice. Let me tell you something about Mr. Gales. The man is a dick. He's always grumpy and gets upset over the smallest of things. He was one of those strict teachers that have rules. You couldn't pass notes (or he'd take it from you and read it out loud to the whole class as a punishment), chew gum, talk unless you're told to do so, use your phones even if you need to (hence why he has this bucket and makes everyone put their phones and mp3 players. And if you didn't give it to him, he'd check just in case), and all these other rules that are super lame as hell.  
  
“Austin," Shayley whispered, checking to see if Mr. Gales was looking. He wasn't. "Want some gum?"  
  
I nodded, grabbing the stick of mind gum from his hand.  
  
A while of chewing later, I accidentally swallowed my gum; causing me to choke on it. I was trying to get someone to help me by making these weird noises. I knew Shayley and Jaxin wouldn't help just so they didn't get in trouble so I made louder noises for Mr. Gales to help out. This can't be happening now, especially with Alan around.  
  
“Austin that's a mark!" He shouted at me, writing a tally on the board.  
  
“Kgujhdjghik!” It was my attempt to talk. But no, that didn’t work as I thought it would.  
  
“That’s a mark!” He then wrote the second mark.  
  
I then attempted to try to speak again, “Aaahhhhh!” Since that didn’t work, I was banging on the desk, hoping that he would soon get what’s happening.  
  
“That’s a mark!” Again, he wrote another mark on the board. “Go to out of the room,” he instructed. Wow, how the hell did he end up being a teacher if he can’t tell that I’m about to die? Everyone’s eyes were on me, including Alan’s. Looking at Shayley and Jaxin, they were worried. They could tell I was chocking, but they just didn’t know what to do.  
  
It only left me with one thing to do. I took my shirt off and threw my desk.  
  
“Aaahhh,” I cried out, putting my hands on my throat, showing him the sign that I was choking. He finally got the memo, so he ran to me, giving me the Heimlich maneuver. Finally, I coughed up my gum. Once I was able to breathe, I turned to face him.  
  
“WHAT THE FUUUUUUCKKK!”  
  
“Mr. Carlile, go to the off –”  
  
“No, no, no; don't you dare tell me to go to the office just because I was choking. I don't give two shits about going to the office because I won't." I ignored my classmates stares, glaring at Mr. Gales. I could honestly care less about everyone's stares and whispers about what was going on and that they just _have_ to get the word out. I was just pissed off right now.  
  
“I don't care about your petty opinions. Go to the office now or I will make you go myself. You were chewing gum in my class when you and everyone here specifically were informed about the rule, using fowl language, and disrupting my class. Go! I don't need to tell you more than twice as of this point, Mr. Carlile."  
  
“Fine, like I give a damn because I honestly don't. I'm glad I'm leaving because the office is _so_ much better than being in your stupid ass class."  
  
As I made my way towards the door, I looked behind me. I ignored Mr. Gales death glare but looked at Alan. He was looking at me for the first time. The guy only raised an eye brow at me, trying not to laugh about what just happened.  
  
Way to make a first impression.


	3. oo3

**[Alan.]**

I hate school. I just fucking hate it. It's not that I hate the teachers, my classmates, or my classes. Okay, scratch that. I _do_ hate them with almost every fiber of my being. Well...I dislike a lot of things and people but still. The teachers were always bossy and some act like they're a ray of sunshine that cuddles with teddy bears, kittens, and puppies though deep down they probably hate us for being annoying assholes. Then our school is basically a fucking cliché. With your stereotypical jocks, preppy chicks, nerds and squares, freaks and geeks, "gothic" or "emo" kids, your artistic kids, punk skaters, wanna be girls, “bad boys”, and so on. Sure, I don’t dislike some people and just a couple of teachers. But someone I dislike with every fiber of my being is Austin Carlile.  
  
Austin Carlile. God, I don’t even want to hear his name or voice or think about him. He thinks he’s all that. He thinks that he can get any girl he wants whenever and wherever. He thinks that he’s better than everyone else. I don’t get why people respect him or think he’s a cool guy. They only do that so they don’t get their asses beat by Carlile himself. At least, that’s what I think. I believe he’s someone who doesn’t deserve the time of day or any respect. Because the only person he respects is himself. Again, that’s what I think.  
  
Sometimes, I think the school knows about my hatred towards Austin, because I have five out of the seven classes with him. So that means I spend the rest of my school days being near him and hearing him talk about pointless things. I try to take a seat in the front since I’ve noticed that he sits in the back and I don’t want to be near his presence. But just a few days ago, I didn’t arrive as early as I usually did, so I had to sit near him. The only thing good came out of it was that he was choking. I don’t know how that happened, but when he got pissed off at Mr. Gales, it was hard not to laugh.  
  
It was now music class. Probably the only class I actually like other than English (minus Mr. Gales). Music is my life and it’s always a joy coming to class knowing I get to do and learn about the thing I love the most (other than my cat, Sophie, of course). The only disadvantage about this class was that Austin was in it. As usual, I was sitting in the front. Then Jaxin had sat down next to me. Jaxin is a good guy. I like a lot of things about him like his personality and how we have the same interests. The one thing I didn’t particularly like about him was that he’s friends with Austin. I blame myself for not eating in the cafeteria that day when he first moved here. I bet Austin has been corrupting him with his evil or whatever.  
  
“Hey Alan!” he said with excitement. “How has your day been so far?”  
  
“Hey Jaxin. It’s been pretty good and yours? Why aren’t you hanging out with Carlile?”  
  
“It’s been pretty well. Why do you ask? Is there a problem with me being friends with Austin? Just cause I hang out with him doesn’t mean I always have to. I just wanna talk to you.”  
  
I had to tell him because I can’t lie to him. “I don’t like him. No, I _hate_ him. And I would appreciate if he would piss off cause he’s a fucking dick face.”  
  
“Alan, you have it all wrong about Austin. He’s a really cool and nice guy. You’re just judging him by his appearance and social status in school. If you just got to know him—“  
  
“Me, getting to know Austin? Ha, yeah right. Jaxin, there is no way in hell that I will ever like Austin, enjoy his presence, get to know him, and not want to puke on my own mother whenever I look at his face. Fine, I don’t care if you’re friends with him cause I can’t control who you hang out with. If that’s your choice then fine. But I’m just saying, he’s no good. Now can we please drop the subject?”  
  
“Only because you said so,” he mumbled with a sigh.  
  
Ten minutes into class and I was looking around my surroundings as I always did. The teacher, Mrs. Stevens, was grabbing a sheet of paper; looking at the noisy class. “Guys I have an announcement,” she said rather loudly, almost like she was shouting though she wasn’t. The class looked at her, confirming that they have her attention.  
  
“Alright, class. So we’re going to be doing a project and it’ll be due next month, a couple days before the month ends so you have plenty of time to work on it. Don’t slack off or think this isn’t important because this is going to be worth a lot so I advise you to work extra hard on it to get a good or at least a decent grade. Now, I already signed you a partner by random. You two must work together to create a song. It can be just instrumental as long as you both play an instrument of your choice. It can be a full on song with the music and lyrics and all. It’s your choice. You’ll both be performing your song in front of the class. If one of you goes absent on one of the days you have to perform; don’t think only one will perform because you both will either way. Understood?”  
  
The class nodded, though some had blank stares.  
  
She started reading off the lists of people who were paired up. Half of the names were listed off so she must have been close to finishing up.  
  
“Jaxin Hall and Tony Perry.” The two high fived each other with joy. “Kellin Bostwick and Victor Fuentes.”  
  
“For the thousandth time, Stevens, I said I prefer Quinn,” Kellin said with an annoyed look. She only replied that she didn’t care, continuing to list off the names of partners.  
  
“Joshua Franceschi and Oliver Sykes, Alexander Gaskarth and John O’Callaghan, Jack Barakat and Taylor Jardine, Shayley Bourget and Austin Carlile, and finally, Alan Ashby and Justin Trotta. Now get to work, class.”  
  
Thank god I wasn’t paired up with Austin and instead with my best friend, Justin. If I was partnered up with Austin, I would probably uppercut Mrs. Stevens’ face. I smiled as Justin made his way over to where I was sitting. He sat on the desk next to mine, his feet on the chair. “What up, Ashby? I didn’t see you at the hangout earlier in fourth hour. How come?”  
  
The hangout was where Justin, Oliver (or Oli as we call him), our friends Mike Fuentes, Andy Glass, Matt Nicholls, and Christofer Drew met up usually. It was at this big ass tree by the football field. We would usually smoke and talk there. “Not much. I had a test in Civics so I couldn’t go.”  
  
“That blows,” he said with a slight frown. “So I know we both play guitar and that you can’t sing worth shit…”  
  
“Hey! I’m not _that_ bad.”  
  
He only chuckled. “And I can’t sing worth shit either. So let’s just do an instrumental.” I nodded in agreement, us going on about weed and music.  
  
All the sudden, Mrs. Stevens came and interrupted our conversation. “Boys, I have decided to switch partners since I just remembered that you lack the skill of completing your work on time due to the fact you both can’t handle working together. So Justin, you’ll work with Shayley and Alan with Austin. Now go to work.”  
  
Really? I have to work with Austin _fucking_ Carlile?


	4. oo4

**[Alan.]**

I think Mrs. Stevens hates us. Yeah, I’m sure of it. Justin and I _did_ TP her house last year, maybe she’s still holding onto that grudge. She must have known my pure hatred for him, it’s the only reason.  
  
Really though, out of everyone it _had_ to be Austin fucking Carlile? I would have worked with Jaxin or that Kellin guy, he’s pretty cool, but no. Having to make an actual conversation, let alone look at him, almost makes me sick to my stomach.  
  
I felt a light tap on my shoulder. How dare he touch me. “Um...Alan?”  
  
“Yeah?” I mumble out, looking at my desk rather than him.  
  
“So...are you ready to get to work?” he asked.  
  
I nodded, looking up to find him awkwardly standing there with a journal at hand. I gestured him to sit on the desk where Justin previously was sitting on. He did so, not saying anything. He just stared at me like some creep. Weird. Might as well break the awkward silence. “Do you play anything or sing?”  
  
“Not exactly.” He looked at the journal in his hands. “I can play a little guitar, but I’m not that good actually. I more of a song writer. I do sing but I mainly scream, like post hardcore music kind of stuff. You know?”  
  
I nodded. “I play guitar, so you’re in luck. Maybe we can just write a song if you can do your screaming stuff and I play my stuff.”  
  
“Sounds like a plan.”  


 

\--

  
  
While we were working, I found it quite awkward. It was always filled with awkward silences, me trying to avoid eye contact with him while he tried to make as much eye contact with me as possible. We only got some chords down, Austin was trying to find a song that he’s written that would go well with what we’ve got down. I’ve noticed that when I would play something, he looked so fascinated. As if he has never seen anyone play it before or it was a foreign object. He’s probably jealous that I’m a killer guitarist. It’s the only plausible reason.  
  
The bell finally rung. I quickly put the guitar away, grabbed my stuff, and ran out of the classroom without a second glance. I went straight to my locker, opening it so I could grab my backpack and longboard.  
  
Once I closed, I saw Austin leaning against the locker next to mine.  
  
“Hey Alan, I was wondering if you wanted to work on this thing after school today. If you wanted to, I mean.”  
  
“Sorry dude, I’m busy today. I have a dentist appointment after school,” I lied. I cannot hang out with him for another few hours. It’s bad enough I see him every week for five hours.  
  
“Okay,” he said, nodding to confirm that he understood. “How about tomorrow?”  
  
“Sure, your place though if that’s okay.” I only agreed so we could finish this thing. The sooner we finished it, the less time I had to hang out with him.  
  
“Great!” he said with excitement. “I’ll drive you to my place tomorrow after school. I’ll see you tomorrow, Alan.” God, his positive attitude better not rub off on me. I need to keep my distance from this guy.  
  
“Yo Al!” Justin shouted from across the hall. Austin had just left. “Let’s go smoke.”  
  
I seriously need a smoke to get my mind off this project.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's short. :/


	5. oo5

Alan and I working together has been amazing. I feel as though somehow, this is a way of the universe trying to apologize about what happened that day in English. And in return, they gave me the gift of spending time and talking with Alan Ashby. He’s been over my house for the past two days already. When he’d come over, we would work on the project and then spend some time getting to know each other. Alan was usually quiet, he didn’t really brag about himself so much but I didn’t mind. But so far, I’ve learn that he likes cats, his favorite band is Pink Floyd, and his middle name is Anthony. I would say that I learned that he’s extremely adorable, but I already knew that. Fuck, I bet _everyone_ knows that.  
  
Today was yet another day in music class. We were already halfway finished with the project, but I’m purposely working slower each time we work together. It’s just an excuse for me to spend more time with the cute ginger, but I think he’s catching on cause now he encourages me to focus more. Today, I decided to sit up front since that was where Alan normally sit. All the sudden, these crowd of girls came up to me. They were the preppy girls that I would hang out with every now and then.  
  
“Austin, how come you don’t sit with us anymore?” a beach blond named Gielle asked me.  
  
“We miss you, Austin!” a long haired brunette asked me, she was Stephanie. She was Gielle’s best friend. The girl next to her giving me sympathetic eyes was a brunette with blond highlights, she was Pamela. We were pretty good friends. Gielle and Stephanie are **not** my friends.  
  
I saw Alan walking into the room. He sat at a desk close to the teacher’s desk, so he wasn’t that far away from where I was sitting. I guess Gielle and Stephanie saw me staring at Alan because they spoke up.  
  
“ _Austin_ , why are you looking at him and not us?” the blond asked, leaning against the desk too close to my comfort.  
  
“Yeah, we’re your friends!” Stephanie joined in, looking annoyed. Pamela just started at the ground, avoiding all eye contact.  
  
“He’s my partner for the project,” I said. “I was just checking to make sure he was here today.”  
  
“I don’t know,” the brunette said. She stared deep into my eyes, trying to find any sort of hint that I was lying. “You look….nervous.”  
  
“Um..yeah, so? You’re really close to me, I feel uncomfortable. Can you just step off, please?”  
  
Gielle started to get suspicious too, so she leaned closer to me. Pamela tried to get them to leave me alone, but they refused. Suddenly, she gasped. “You like him!” All the sudden, all eyes were on us, including Alan’s. God, I wish I could just disappear. “Oh my god, you like that ginger kid! Austin, are you gay?”  
  
I didn’t know what to do. Everyone just kept looking at me; some were shocked, others just wanted to see my reaction. I couldn’t break in front of them, I can’t give these guys the satisfaction they want. I walked out of the class, ignoring Mrs. Stevens calling me back into the room, ignoring everyone’s stares and snickers, ignoring Alan watching me leave.  
  
God, I can’t believe Alan was there. Now he definitely knows I like him. Damn, what if he wants a new partner? I don’t care if the whole school now knows that I find guys attractive, my only concern was that Alan knew. He probably doesn’t even feel the same way. I entered the bathroom that was not too far from the classroom. I hid in the one of the stalls. Everything was happening too fast for me. Gielle and Stephanie’s look of disgust, everyone’s glares, and Alan’s shocked face was all I could see. Then someone was knocking on a stall, my stall to be exact.  
  
“Austin, it’s me.” God, not you Alan. “I know you’re in here, I can see your feet and this is the only occupied stall.”  
  
“Go away, Alan. I’m not in the mood to talk to anyone.”  
  
“Come on, dude, just open up. Don’t make me come in there myself.” I didn’t respond, I didn’t think I needed to. Couldn’t Alan take the hint and leave me alone? My eyes were no longer looking at the door, but the dirty tile floor. Seconds later, Alan’s small body was crawling on the floor. He soon entered my stall.  
  
“What the hell?!” I shouted, backing away slowly.  
  
“I told you I’d come in there myself! God, that floor is fucking gross, you seriously owe me,” he said, dusting off his pants and shirt. “So you like me, huh?”  
  
“Umm…”  
  
“Answer me, it’s a simple question. Is it a yes or a no?”  
  
“Fine, yes, I like you!”  
  
Alan stepped closer to me, causing me to back up a bit with each step he took. Soon, there was very little space between us. I could feel the warmth radiating from his small frame. His piercing eyes were staring deep into my brown orbs. They looked like they were saying something but I couldn’t seem to figure out what. I didn’t realize how focused I was when I felt Alan’s warm arms wrap around my neck and I noticed his face merely centimeters away from mine. I tried to fight the urge to lean in and kiss those rosy lips, but I lost, and I found myself getting closer and closer.  
  
Suddenly, I could hear a deep chuckle. I found myself hating it for some reason. I felt his arms move around to my shoulders and harshly push me away from him. “Do you actually think I like you?”  
  
“W-what?” I stuttered out, watch him walk backwards to the stall door. He leaned against it with a smug look.  
  
“God, didn’t you know?”  
  
“K-know what?”  
  
“I could never like you, Austin,” Alan said with a serious tone. “I hate you. I hate the air you breath, the way you walk, the way you sound, your presence, everything. I can’t even look at you without wanting to throw myself out a window. I could never, and will never, like you Austin Carlile.”  
  
He left the stall, slamming the door shut. I stood there dumbfounded. Alan’s words kept repeating in my head over and over again.  
  
 _“I could never like you, Austin. I hate you. I hate the air you breath, the way you walk, the way you sound, your presence, everything. I can’t even look at you without wanting to throw myself out a window. I could never, and will never, like you Austin Carlile.”_  
  
It was quiet in the bathroom. And I swear I could hear my heart break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This reminded me of Frozen, haha. Anyway, Gielle and Stephanie (one of Austin's ex girlfriends) are the douche bags here and Pamela (Austin's current girlfriend) is his friend, just to clarify.


	6. oo6

**[Alan.]**

Austin Carlile, the most popular guy in school, liked me? _The_ Austin Carlile had a crush on me? And admitted it to me? When I heard those words coming out of Gielle's mouth, I didn't know what to believe. It could have been true but it was probably most likely a joke knowing them. I thought Carlile planned it out to embarrass me or something. But once he ran out of the classroom, I had a feeling it was never really a joke.  
  
Due to that feeling, I decided to follow him all the way to the bathroom far away from the classroom. All the stalls except one were closed. And what happen seriously fucked with my head, much to my dismay. The plan was to get the idea clear in his stupid head: I hate him. But instead, I decided to mess with him a bit by almost kissing him. The kiss would have been a little too far, that I know now. Since then, it's been replaying on my mind for the past couple of days. I don't even know why I decided to go as far as a kiss, anyway. The thought of mine pressing against his as his filthy hands roam around my body sent awful shivers down my spine.  
  
I tried getting a new partner a few times after that, but unfortunately, Mrs. Stevens refuses to switch partners again despite knowing about the incident (minus the part where I _almost_ kissed him). Austin hasn't been to school since then too, so I haven't done anything except hang out with Justin and his partner. I think his name is Shirley? I'm not sure, it's something lame with an S.  
  
"Dude, I still can't believe Austin Carlile likes you!" Justin said, laughing at me. I glared at him as people started to stare. "That's the funniest shit I've heard in awhile, bro."  
  
"Shut up, it's not fuckin' funny!" I said, punching his arm.  
  
"The man nearly confesses his undying love for you but he doesn't have the balls to show up? That's bullshit."  
  
Shirley or Shipley, whatever it is, gave him a glare that could make someone quiver with fear. Glad to know this dude is on my side and gets that this shit isn't a joke.  
  
"Knock it off, dude. I'm pissed off he isn't here cause now we're not getting shit done."  
  
"Sorry dude," he apologized, still rubbing his arm from when I punched him. "Anyway, have you met Shayley?"  
  
Shayley, that's his name.  
  


\--

  
  
For the rest of the hour, it was just the three of us talking and joking around. Because the three of us all played guitar, I helped them out every now and then and I helped Shayley with the lyrics. After class, Shayley and I became friends and even exchanged numbers.  
  
Unfortunately, I was late for the bus and I didn't have a ride home. I could have asked Justin but there are two things. 1.) He is a horrible driver. It's literally the scariest experience I have ever lived through. 2.) He's in after school detention for starting a food fight during first lunch the day after Austin confessed. So it left me with no other choice but to walk home. Slipping my headphones in my ears, I played Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd.  
  
 **To: Austin**  
 _‘why haven’t you been at school?!?!?!'_  
  
‘im sick, sorry’  
  
Really? That's his excuse? God, I didn't think I messed him up that badly. Damn it, if I knew this would happen I wouldn't have fucked around with the guy. Now we're going to be behind and the due date is coming.  
  
I didn’t respond back since I didn’t think I should. Slipping my phone back in my pocket, I continued walking back home. That was until someone bumped into me; hard enough to make us both fall back.  
  
"Oh crap!" The stranger exclaimed. "I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying attention."  
  
"Don't sweat it," I replied, dusting myself off.  
  
"Let me pick up your stuff, at least." Cute Guy with Beautiful Hazel Eyes, who I decided to call him since I didn't know his actual name, picked up my backpack and a few things that fell out.  
  
“Thanks, I’m Alan. Alan Ashby. I never got your name.”  
  
"Nice to meet you, Alan. I'm Tyler. Tyler Carter," he said.  
  
“Nice to meet you too.”  
  


\--

  
  
Tyler offered to walk me back home, which I didn't complain cause, hey, he's pretty fucking gorgeous. He was really nice and funny. And his voice, god it's heartwarming. His southern accent is so cute. I learned that he's a Freshman in college, majoring in Psychology, he sings, is living a few blocks down with his family, and is bisexual. I might have just met him, but I’m starting to like him. Finally, we made it back home.  
  
“Guess this is my stop,” Tyler said.  
  
"I guess so. Thanks for walking me home, you really didn't have to."  
  
He shook his head, chuckling slightly. "No, it's okay. I didn't mind, honestly. I had to make sure a cute ginger like yourself got home safely." He then winked at me, causing me to blush like mad.  
  
"I can drive you to school tomorrow if you'd like," he offered.  
  
“Sure!” I said with a smile. “Just text me, and you can meet me right here at...let's say, 7 AM?"  
  
“Okay, works for me.” We then exchanged numbers, which I was happy about.  
  
“See you tomorrow, Alan.” He then kissed my left cheek, turning around to walk back to his house.  
  
I just got a cute college student's number, he called me cute, _and_ he kissed my check. I definitely didn't expect my day to get better.


	7. oo7

There’s nothing that can really change the feeling that I am forced to feel right now. I didn’t ask to feel heartbroken. I didn’t ask for the ginger to play with my emotions and say that hateful confession. When I got a text from Alan yesterday about my whereabouts, I tried not to cry. But I wasn’t strong enough to hold back my tears. I cried because of the fact that he only texted me for the project. He doesn’t care about how I’m feeling or the pain he has put me through.  
  
Since that day, I haven’t left my room. My mom or dad would come up every now and then to check up on me or leave me food to eat. They know I’m upset, but they don’t know why. At least they respect my privacy and leave me here to wallow in my self-pity.  
  
Suddenly, I heard the door open and multiple footsteps walk near my bed. I felt hands shaking my body. I tried ignoring it but the shaking wouldn’t stop and they kept calling my name. I turned to meet Phil, Tino, and Aaron staring at me with serious expressions.  
  
“Get up, Austin!” yelled Tino.  
  
“You have to get up sometime, dude,” said Phil.  
  
“Now would be that time,” said Aaron.  
  
“No,” I said, turning away from them. I put my pillow over my head, hoping they got the message that I wasn’t in the mood to deal with them right now.  
  
“Austin,” pleaded Tino.  
  
“Leave me alone. I’m not in the mood to talk.”  
  
“We’re not leaving until you get out of that bed,” Phil said with a serious tone. They obviously were not going to give up.  
  
“Fuck off guys. I’m not in the mood, seriously.”  
  
They did what I didn’t expect any of them to do. They dragged me out of my bed by my ankles. The air felt so cold as they took the blankets away from me. I didn’t bother getting up from the ground. I saw Tino and Phil roll their eyes, grabbing both of my arms and picking me up and setting me back on the bed.  
  
“Don’t you dare lay back down, Austin,” Aaron said.  
  
“I’m not leaving this room or bed, you guys. I’m pretty sure we just talked about this,” I said. I crossed my arms against my chest and ignoring any eye contact.  
  
“We’re not blind, Austin. We know it’s about Alan because of that incident.”  
  
“Don’t even say his name, Phil.”  
  
“Forget about him, dude,” Tino joined in. “He’s an asshole for what he did. You don’t deserve him and he sure as hell doesn’t deserve you.”  
  
“Tino’s right, Alan isn’t worthy of being with you. The best thing for you to do is to forget about that ginger and move on. Find someone who is worth being with and spending your time with. Don’t waste your tears on a nobody who doesn’t respect you,” Phil said. Aaron and Tino nodded in agreement.  
  
I sighed heavily, nodding my head as well. “You guys are right, I shouldn’t be crying over Alan.”  
  
“That’s the spirit!”  
  
We talked a bit about what I’ve missed and about random shit. We had a lot of laughs, which was what I definitely needed this past week and a few days. They talked about what I missed in school, handed me some of the homework I had to do, and all. After awhile, my mom invited them for dinner but they politely declined, all saying they had to go home anyway but thanking her for the offer.  
  
Before officially leaving, they turned to look at me.  
  
“Hey, you wanna go to this party tomorrow? It’s at 8 at a friend of mine’s house, his name is Michael Bohn. You remember him? Anyway, it’s not far from your place, actually. I think about a few blocks down. We’re all going, including Shayley,” Tino said.  
  
“Sounds fun, I guess I can go,” I said, shrugging my shoulders.  
  
“Awesome!” Aaron exclaimed, showing off a cheeky grin. “We’re coming around maybe 8:30 if that’s cool.”  
  
“Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll be ready by then.”  
  
“Cool, later dude!”  
  


-=-

  
  
The next day, I went to school. Luckily, I got to finish some of the homework they left for me so they weren’t too mad at me for missing out. They made sure to email me links to all the notes I missed out on and all, so I’m not too worried about catching up. In music class, Alan wasn’t at school. I found it quite odd since I recall Alan asking about where I was, yet once I come to school he isn’t even here. But I make sure to not let it bother me so much.  
  
Throughout the school day, I got a lot of looks. The so-called “popular kids” that considered me their “friend” haven’t talked to me. They never called or texted me since that day, not that I’m complaining. For once, I felt… _free._ Sure, their glares every time I saw them did make me feel a bit uncomfortable but I don’t care. I no longer feel like a dog on a leash constantly being pulled. The only friend I kept was Pamela, who has accepted me of my sexuality after learning that I was actually bisexual. I’m glad to know despite losing “companions,” I still have someone by my side who has now left that god awful clique and joined my group of friends. My **real** friends.  
  
Right now, I’m just about done getting ready for this party. The guys are gonna pick me up in a few minutes so I’m just grabbing a quick snack. I’ve heard about Michael Bohn, the one hosting this party, a few times. I’ve seen him around school before he left for college, he was a grade above me. He’s pretty good friends with Tino. I remember he threw parties all the time and anyone who was anyone would come. He was really nice too, so he would invite everyone in the school. Michael was insanely popular in high school, only cause he was in a band and had the best parties.  
  
“Austin, honey, the boys are here!” my mom announced.  
  
“Okay!” I said, quickly putting away my bowl of cereal away.  
  


\--

  
  
I’ve been to a few high school parties. They were like the stereotypical parties you’d seen in movies, with the red Solo cups and loud shitty music booming their parent’s stereos. This was my first college house party and honestly, it was a little bit too much for me to handle. I’ve been to Michael’s parties before a few times and they got crazy but this one completely just made them looking like kids parties. The house was pretty spacious, the perfect place to throw a party. In the living room, it looked completely normal, as there were people talking and sitting on the couches. The kitchen was the bar, full of every alcoholic beverage you could think of and nonalcoholic beverages for all the ones who didn’t want to drink (like myself). Pass the kitchen was like a second living room which was the dance floor, where everyone was dancing and singing obnoxiously along to the mainstream music and occasional pop punk song. I heard from Tino and a few others that Michael’s new band, Issues, were going to perform a few songs in the backyard. The backyard was where some people were doing beer pong as some friends of Michael’s were setting up for Issues to perform.  
  
I went earlier to get away from the loud music, but it wasn’t any better. I walked into a bedroom where I found some people smoking and talking. One of them asked if I wanted to join, but I declined. Another room, I didn’t even bothering walking in because I could hear exactly what was going on. The other was locked, so there was no use.  
  
I was in the garage with the guys and their girlfriends. Most people were playing truth or dare in one corner, drunk off their asses and laughing like kids in middle school when someone dared another person to do something stupid. The other was spin the bottle and another was just people talking.  
  
“Hey Austin, why so down?” I looked up to see ocean colored eyes looking at me with concern. It was Kellin Bostwick, preferably Kellin Quinn. We used to be like best friends in middle school but by the time high school rolled around, we didn’t talk and hang out as much.  
  
“Eh, just kind of bored.” I shrugged, taking a chug of Diet Coke from my can that was half full.  
  
“You should meet my friend! Hey, Ty, come over here will ya?” He shouted from across the room.  
  
All the sudden, this guy walked up to us. He has short blond hair perfectly styled with brown roots. He had on a sweater, black leather skinny jeans, and black high-tops. He gave us a friendly smile, showing off his bright hazel eyes. He had just a positive aura, I couldn't help but smile back.  
  
“Austin, this is Tyler. Tyler, this is Austin,” Kellin said.  
  
“Hi, Tyler Carter, nice to meet ya,” he said, shaking my hand.  
  
“Nice to meet you too, Austin Carlile,” I replied, “I’ve never seen you at our school so I’m assuming you’re in college.”  
  
“Yeah.” He chuckled a bit, sitting down next to me on the couch. “I’ve just moved here from Georgia a couple months ago so I’m still trying to get familiar with the area.”  
  
“Oh really?”  
  
We talked for awhile about each other. Tyler was a really cool and nice dude. We seemed to have a lot in common, so we just had so much to talk about. I liked talking to him, he’s just easy to talk to and when we run out of something to say, he’s someone who can still keep the conversation going. I’m not saying I’m attracted to him, even though he is cute, but I just liked having that company.  
  
“Ty!”  
  
“Hey!” Tyler said, turning around. I stared at my phone, checking the time. When I looked up, I saw someone sitting on his lap. He had his arms wrapped around their waist. “Austin, this is my new boyfriend, Alan.”  
  
 _Alan Ashby?_


End file.
